Cowpokes: A Collection of Short Stories
by Tell-Me-Tales
Summary: An assortment of drabbles and one-shots. All featuring one or both of our favorite cowpokes: Woody and Jessie. Pairings are Woody/Bo and Buzz/Jessie for canon-oriented fics, but most will be Woody/Jessie. Story 5: Jessie tries to help Woody cope with losing Bo. [Woody/Jessie, Woody/Bo, Buzz/Jessie][No Slash][One-shot Collection][Complete]
1. Waking Up in the Factory

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Waking Up in the Factory_**

~.~.~

Woody blinked as he awoke. He struggled to his feet and looked around, unable to remember when he had fallen asleep. One glance at his surroundings made him freeze.

This wasn't the ranch, or his office. There weren't any wooden walls or wide open-spaces anywhere. Cold metal walls and conveyer-belts met his gaze in all directions.

A loud horn suddenly sounded from beyond the building walls.

Woody fell over backwards in surprise and barely managed to catch the edge of the platform he had been standing on. He dangled there for a moment, but his hand slipped.

...And he fell.


	2. Hand Me Down

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Hand-Me-Down_**

~.~.~

"I'm sorry, Andy," the man said, "I can't stay."

Andy hugged his father tightly, desperate to keep him from leaving. "Why?"

The man sighed before gently prying himself loose. "I need you to look after Mom and Molly for me, okay? I'll be back soon."

Andy only sniffled and nodded mutely.

"I've got something for you," he said, relieved when Andy looked up at him. He opened his suitcase and pulled his old cowboy doll out of it. "This is Woody," he explained with a fond smile as he handed the toy to his son, "He'll help you through anything."


	3. Butterflies

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Butterflies_**

~.~.~

Spinning, twirling, the two toys danced gracefully across the floor. How long had it taken them? Too long, but apparently even Jessie was tired of waiting for Buzz to make a move and had made one herself.

Woody smiled. It was about time, and they were putting on a show that made it worth the wait. Jessie looked at him, and excited green eyes met surprised brown ones. His breath caught in his throat and a warm, tingling sensation filled him. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time, not since Bo. What was it called again? Butterflies?


	4. Strawberry Kisses

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Strawberry Kisses_**

~.~.~

"J—Jessie?" Woody stuttered when the cowgirl suddenly plopped down into his lap.

Jessie didn't say anything, only gave him a mischievous smile before she unexpectedly kissed him.

Woody was more than a little startled by the sudden action. Jessie's insistence, however, soon had the sheriff kissing her back without thought.

_'She's good at this,'_ he noted to himself as he let her take the lead. He was still confused as to why this was happening in the first place; but he had to admit, he was enjoying it nonetheless.

He absently tried to figure out what the kiss tasted like as he wrapped his arms around Jessie's waist, his hands coming to rest on the small of her back. After tossing a few ideas around, he came to a decision.

She tasted like strawberries. A smooth, sweet flavor that tugged upward at the corners of his lips and tempted them into a smile. But there was something else there as well, something more energetic and not as tame. Lemon was a good way to describe it. A sharp, sour taste that played well off the sweetness of the strawberries and brought a pleasant tang into the mix.

He decided that he rather liked the way she tasted. He really liked it. But then she drew back, and it ended.

"Woody," she said sweetly, all but singing, "Oh, Woody."

He looked at her in confusion. He wanted another kiss, but something was wrong. This wasn't the Jessie he knew.

The cowgirl's green eyes sparkled with mischief again and she smiled at him beautifully, but when she spoke next it wasn't her voice that he heard.

"Time to wake up, Sheriff."

* * *

Bo giggled as Woody rejoined the waking world with a start.

"Ouch!" Woody yelped when he banged his head on the low shelf above him and it caused his hat to fall off his head and onto the ground. Bo picked the hat up and dusted it off while Woody held his head and groaned.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff," she addressed him as he lowered his hands and she put his hat back on his head. A gentle smile graced her lips, "Did you have a good nap?"

Woody blinked at the shepherdess, trying to separate dream from reality. "Bo, I..." he faltered for words, still feeling dazed.

Bo didn't comment though, or even seem to notice just how dumbstruck her longtime boyfriend was. She cut him off with a quick kiss before he really had a chance to say anything anyway, and he fumbled through the automatic response of returning the kiss. "See ya around, Sheriff," she told him before walking away.

Woody watched the sway of her dress as she left until she disappeared from sight. He licked his lips and tried to get his brain to work again.

Bo tasted like strawberries too, he thought, strawberries dipped in sugar. She was sweet, so sweet, and he felt horrible for thinking it, but... He missed the warm tang from his dreams.


	5. Of Stars and Broken Hearts

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Of Stars and Broken Hearts_**

~.~.~

Woody gazed up at the stars, heartbroken. Bo was gone. She had been sold in this afternoon's yard-sale almost before he'd realized that she wasn't in the house any longer. He had only been able to watch as her new owners pulled away from the curb and drove out of sight. He hadn't even had the time to attempt a rescue mission. By now, she was long gone. He felt sick with the knowledge that, in all likely-hood, he would never see her again.

"I didn't even get to say good-bye," he muttered bitterly as he glared at the stars, or rather, tried to. The words came out as more of a choked cry than the wry, mocking comment he had meant for them to be; and his glare was more of a beseeching gaze than a pointed look of rage. He wanted to be angry, he'd have settled for being angry at himself by this point, but he just couldn't seem to muster up the fire and energy needed for the emotion. All he could feel was a depressing amount of hopelessness that weighed down on his chest and a kind of cold pain that had settled into his heart.

He had managed to keep up a decent enough façade in front of the other toys for the rest of the day, though he suspected now that it had been out of some sort of misplaced sense of duty. At any rate, it had kept him going and lent him the temporary strength that he had needed. He was the leader and the other toys needed him to be strong, no matter what the circumstances happened to be. Letting them see him breakdown just wasn't an option. He'd bowed out and let Buzz take care of just about everything that day, anyway. He still hated to admit it, but the space-ranger did almost as good a job leading the others as he did. Almost.

Woody sighed and slumped to his left so that he was leaning against the cool surface of the window. His hat was forced into an awkward angle, thanks to his new position, but it stayed on nonetheless. He gave up on even pretending that he was angry as he looked up at the stars again. There was no one that would see him now, anyway. All in the house were fast asleep, humans and toys alike, save Woody.

"What do I do without you, Bo?" he asked quietly. The cowboy dragged a finger across the glass absentmindedly and continued to beg a star, any star, to grant his wish. He'd been doing as much ever since Andy had gone to sleep and he'd been able to creep up to the windowsill. "What am I suppose to do?"

"I reckon exactly what you're doin' now, partner."

Woody started and spun around; and out of pure habit, one hand flew up to grab his hat so as to keep it on his head. He all but yelped, "Jessie!"

"Howdy there, Woody," she greeted as she claimed a seat next to him on the windowsill, though her usual vibrancy seemed strangely subdued. She nudged his shoulder with her own as she looked out the window. "Don't worry," she told him, "It gets easier to deal with in time."

"What gets easier to deal with?" he asked tensely. The last thing he had wanted was for one of the other toys to find him tonight. He just wanted to be alone.

"The pain," she stated simply, still staring at the stars. "I don't think it ever really goes away completely," she bit her lip, "but it doesn't stay as bad as it is in the beginning."

Woody felt himself starting to get angry, but the rational part of his mind told him that blowing up at one of the other toys, especially Jessie, would be something he'd regret later. Being frustrated with himself and his own inadequacies was fine. Taking his aggravations out on someone else was not, and held consequences of varying degrees.

"Jessie," he nearly hissed out, struggling to keep a cap on the ire he could feel building up inside himself, "shouldn't you be asleep?"

The cowgirl glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but she remained silent for a long time before responding, "I thought...that maybe...maybe you could use someone to talk to that understood what you're going through." She hugged her knees to her chest and looked down at her toes.

The cap burst.

"What I'm going through? How would you know what I'm going through?" he challenged. His form towered over hers as he stood, rage curling his hands into fists. "I just lost Bo! You have no idea what this is like for me!"

Jessie sprang to her feet as well, her own temper rising to meet Woody's. "Don't you dare tell me that I don't know what it's like to lose someone!" she yelled back at him, poking his chest, "I lost Emily! You know there's no one more important to a toy than their owner."

Woody stilled. The tight ball of fury that had quickly taken up residence in his gut suddenly dispersed at the simple words, leaving even more swiftly than it had come. He sank back down into a slumped sitting position. "It's not the same," he mumbled weakly in his own defense.

Jessie plopped down next to him. "I know, but I don't think anyone else can understand any better than I do," she stared out the window again, "I know that right after Emily gave me away, I would have done nearly anything just to be able to talk to someone that could understand the pain I was feeling."

Woody thought the words over. He didn't feel like talking, he doubted he ever would. He just wanted to forget, but that wasn't going to happen. Jessie had a point though; having someone around that understood, made it hurt just a little bit less. The idea of being left alone wasn't nearly as appealing as it had been just moments before.

Neither doll said anything else, merely sat in silence, side by side, for nearly an hour.

Jessie sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry," she said, dusting off her chaps, "I'll just go now." She sighed again and turned to leave.

Woody didn't think, only reacted. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, halting her in her tracks. She peered back over her shoulder at him, eyes wide with unvoiced questions.

"Stay," Woody pleaded. The simple request, comprised of but a single word, said everything.

"Okay," Jessie agreed softly, a small, gentle smile appearing on her face, "That's—"

She cut herself off with a surprised squeak when Woody suddenly pulled her down.

* * *

Jessie found herself sitting awkwardly in Woody's lap. His arms were wrapped around her from behind and his head was resting on her shoulder. The rim of his hat brushed against the side of her face. And in that moment, Jessie would have sworn that, had she been human, her face would have been every bit as red as any tomato there ever was.

"Woody?" she asked uncertainly, but she didn't receive an answer. She bit her lip as she began to wonder about the cowboy's strange behavior.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_A seven-year-old Emily entered her room crying. She dropped her winter coat on the floor and then ran to her bed, all but throwing herself onto the soft mattress. She grabbed the pillow from the head of the bed and sobbed into it for what seemed like forever to Jessie, trapped on the shelf on the other side of the room._

_"Oh, Emily," the doll breathed, peeking out from behind some of the girl's larger toys. She wanted to help make her girl feel better somehow, but she was too far away to do anything. And she definitely couldn't just 'magically appear' beside the girl on the bed. She could only watch from her place on the shelf and hope the crying would end soon._

_The sobbing eventually stopped, and Emily sat up. She sniffled, wiping as much of the wet tear tracks off her cheeks as she could. The girl pulled her large teddy bear into her lap from its place at the foot of the bed and hugged it to her chest. Emily remained silent. She only sat on her bed, staring straight ahead and rocking back and forth as she clung to the bear. A stray tear or two still slipped down her cheek, only to be briskly wiped away by a sleeve._

_"Emily?" her mother called gently before entering the room a few minutes later. Emily only turned to look up at her mother with sad, tear-filled eyes that threatened to start crying all over again. "Oh, honey," her mother said before scooping the girl up, teddy bear and all._

_The woman sat down on her daughter's bed. "I know you're feeling bad right now, but things will be better soon," she soothed the girl as she rubbed the child's back and kissed the top of her head, "Life isn't always fair, but it can be so beautiful if you give it a chance... Like the stars. There's nothing more beautiful than the night sky over your grandpa's farm. Do you know what Grandpa says about stars?"_

_Emily sniffled and shook her head._

_"He told me, when I was little, that each and every star was hung in the sky so that everyone could know hope. They shine to let us know that even in the dark times, there will always be a light to guide us safely through. They all work together to see us through to dawn so we'll never be alone. We just have to look up at the sky, and the stars will be there to remind us that there is always hope."_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Jessie shook off the old memory, unable to figure out why she had recalled it now to begin with. Woody's arms tightened around her slightly, and she gave a start when she came to the realization that she had become the teddy bear.

Woody immediately loosened his hold on the cowgirl. He became so still that Jessie had to wonder if he was even still breathing. Technically, since they were toys, she supposed that they didn't need to breath. All the same, she doubted it was comfortable not to.

Jessie frowned. The teddy bear had helped Emily to calm down, but it had been her mother that had really comforted her. Now how had Emily's mother gone about it?

* * *

Woody hadn't given the action a second thought when he'd pulled the cowgirl down into his lap, but now he wondered if it had been appropriate or not. He knew she hadn't expected it, the high pitched yelp that had escaped her had been an obvious indicator, but she hadn't really attempted to free herself from his haphazard embrace either. Still, he doubted she was entirely comfortable their current arrangement.

Jessie shifted suddenly, and he forced himself to loosen his grip around her waist, though he couldn't quite get himself to let her go entirely. He didn't say a word, just waited in grim silence for her to leave him alone again. He was more than a little surprised when Jessie twisted toward him, rather than away from him, and slipped her arms around his back, hugging him in return.

"It'll be okay, Woody," she said, though how she could make such a promise he didn't know. He felt anger starting to creep up on him again. He didn't want her pity or hollow promises; but all thoughts of arguing and telling her that the world was nothing but a dark, hopelessness globe of disappointments left his mind the moment the cowgirl started to rub his back in small circles. "So long as there's a star in the sky, there's hope."

He wanted to ask Jessie about what stars had to do with hope, but he never got the words past his lips. His eyes started to droop as the sheer exhaustion of the day caught up to him. It left him wonderfully numb to his previous emotions. Woody slouched further back into the corner of the window. He wondered vaguely when Jessie had begun humming, but didn't truly have a chance to ponder the question before sleep took over.

* * *

Jessie's humming trailed off shortly after Woody fell asleep. She didn't bother trying to extract herself from cowboy's embrace. She doubted that she could without waking him up, and she'd worry about that later. For now, the doll stayed where she was, nestled in Woody's lap, gazing skyward at hundreds of thousands of stars.


	6. Woody Pride

**DISCLAIMER: Toy Story is property of Disney and Pixar.**

* * *

~.~.~

**_Cowpokes  
Woody Pride_**

~.~.~

Andy was growing up. It was a simple fact. Playtimes had become few and far between, and it left a lot of time for thought.

Woody had gone through this before, but it still hurt to realize that he'd been replaced again. He remember the angry jealousy that had swept over him when it had been Buzz; but now it was an almost mournful resignation as videogames, school, and girls took the boy's attention away from his toys.

The sheriff sighed quietly and looked down from the high shelf at the sleeping teenager. Would he ever play with them again? Or had the last time been THE last time? Perhaps that wasn't quite right; or at least, he hoped it wasn't. It would probably be better to think of it as the last playtime with Andy. He had already been passed down from father to son once. There was a chance it could happen again, wasn't there?

He frowned and leaned back against the wall. He was an old toy now, but he had been well taken care of. Both Tom and Andy had been careful with their toys so as to keep them in good condition; and after Al had stolen him and subsequently gotten him patched up, well, he'd been as good as he'd been straight out of the box. But new toys were being made every day, with flashing lights and gizmos of every sort. And so the question became, if the cycle continued, would he still be the favorite?

He'd been Tom's favorite toy since the day he'd opened Woody's box. He'd been Andy's favorite since the day the boy had received Woody from his father. But would he be the favorite of the next Davis child?

He wasn't sure he knew how to be anything else but the favorite. Being the favorite toy had been something he'd always prided himself on; and if the first few weeks after Buzz's arrival were any indicator, he didn't do well if he wasn't.

Sure he'd been upset that Andy hadn't been playing with him as much as he had before, but that had been expected after a birthday party. It was just something that always happened. New toys always had a short stint of 'breaking in' as he'd come to think of it, a time when the child's excitement caused him to ignore his older toys in favor of the new one.

But it hadn't stopped at that in Buzz's case. The entire room had transformed after the space ranger's arrival. Woody had felt that his place as the favorite toy was being threatened. Worse yet, Buzz hadn't even seemed to care at the time, and that had stung his pride more than he cared to admit to.

He was constantly telling the other toys that their priority had to be Andy, that their owner's good came before each and every one of them; but if he had really believed that, shouldn't he have been able to accept that Andy might have chosen a new favorite? Woody knew the answer, and he was ashamed of it. He'd allowed his pride to come before his kid, and that was something that no toy should ever do.

His injured pride had turned into jealousy, and blind jealousy had turned into scheming. He'd reasoned that everything had been just fine before Buzz came and that, if the space toy were to go missing for a little while, it wouldn't really be a problem. Andy might be a bit upset over losing his newest toy, but he would get over it soon, wouldn't he? His less than innocent actions had come back to bite him only moments later and the immediate results had lasted for days, and though everything had ended up pretty well, the lesson had struck home the moment he had stopped long enough to think about it.

Ever since, he had worked at keeping tighter control over what he allowed his pride to drive him into doing. He didn't want to deal with those kinds of consequences again. He shuddered, thinking about how much worse things could have been. Unfortunately, there were still times when his control would slip and his pride would still get the better of him.

Woody sighed again and pulled his hat further over his eyes. He might as well get to sleep he reasoned, thinking in circles didn't actually solve anything after all.

His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was that, for better or worse, he had certainly earned his name of Sheriff Woody Pride.


End file.
